Zillow helps Android users find a home to rent

Android phone users looking for a place to rent are getting a new app from Zillow.

Launching today, Zillow Rentals for Android gives apartment seekers an app that puts on-the-spot comparison power in their hands. It gives access to the real estate information site's estimates on more than 100 million homes and apartments in the U.S.

"Renters shop differently from buyers and look at many homes quickly, in specific locations, in a short amount of time," said Jeremy Wacksman, Zillow's vice president of consumer marketing and mobile.

It's notable that the app is debuting for Android phones instead of the iPhone. In previous app launches, developers would test the water with an iOS app first and then develop for other platforms. The app ecosystem seems to be maturing, as developers better understand the audiences for which they are developing, by platform.

"The main reason Zillow is launching on Android is that the audience skews younger, and they felt a larger pool of renters, who would benefit from a rental app, could be reached on the Android platform versus iOS," Wacksman said.

The app lets users browse color-coded results that show how long properties have been on the market, and receive on-screen alerts when new properties meeting specified criteria hit the market.

Whether looking for a house or apartment to rent, users can compare favorite properties in a side-by-side list. They can draw boundaries around neighborhoods to search and search for rental homes using Android's innate voice-search features.

Users can call or email a property's landlord directly from the app, adding the property to a list of favorites with a time stamp recording the communication.

This is Zillow's first app out of its suite of 10 for mobile devices that focuses on rentals.

On the weekend, when much of the home browsing goes on, an average of 57 homes per second are viewed, as 40% of Zillow's traffic comes from mobile devices, according to the company.